Senate President Godsill Akpabio, has commended President Bola Tinubi for the bold economic reforms embarked upon by his administration.
Akpabio submitted that despite the initial challenges, the reforms are yielding positive results, and Nigeria is getting better.
Naijaonpoint reports the Senate President made the submission on Friday during the signing of the 2025 budget into law by President Tinubu.
Recalling one of the conversations he had with President Tinubu regarding the policy of fuel subsidy removal and the possibility of denying the President a second term ticket, Akpabio disclosed that Tinubu damned the consequences and told him there’s no need for gradual removal as the last administration didn’t include it in the budget.
He said Nigeria and Nigerians are now reaping the rewards of the bold decision.
“By the time you removed the fuel subsidy, which many had failed in over 40 years, I came back to you and asked Mr President, ‘don’t you want re-election in 2027’?”
“You asked ‘why’. I said, ‘how can you do this? Let’s remove it gradually’. You said ‘I met a fuel subsidy that was no longer available. The last administration made a budget and ended fuel subsidy in May’.
“So from June, when you took over, you re-echoed that subsidy is gone, you didn’t elaborate otherwise. So you started, meandered, and today Nigeria is about to float even without petroleum products coming in as income,” Akpabio said.
You Have Done Well With The Budget
Akpabio also commended Tinubu for presenting what he described as the “largest budget” in Nigeria’s history, and also working out a way to finance it.
He assured that the National Assembly carried out due diligence on the appropriation bill before it was passed.
The Senate President also pledged the loyalty of the lawmakers to working with Tinubu in delivering the dividends of democracy to Nigerians.
“Your reforms are working. When you came to the national assembly with a very ambitious budget of N49.7 trillion, little did we know that by working with your team, we would discover other sources of bringing revenue in today.
“We are about to make history by signing the largest budget in Nigeria since independence, N54.7 trillion, so I say congratulations, sir.
“We on this side of the aisle believe strongly that anything that can alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians, any policy that you propose that can alleviate the suffering of Nigerians, be rest assured that the national assembly — both chambers — will go with you. We are behind you because we know that you mean well for this country.
“You gave the budget to us in December; people may think we delayed it, but we went through it line by line, clause by clause to ensure we meet the aspiration not just of your administration but that of the entire nation,” he said.